On the issue of large scale hog farms, Ross voiced support of the need for this type of farm in Arkansas and claimed Hutchinson has said there's no need for it.

I think it's more accurate to say that Hutchinson has straddled this issue. He's criticized the permitting process for the hog feeder operation in the Buffalo River watershed but has stopped far short of opposing the specific farm or ones like it. Which Ross himself has more or less said himself.

It wouldn't do, I guess, for either candidate (and the desire by each to please the farm lobby) to say that there are some special places in this state — such as the porous limestone substrata of the Buffalo River watershed — unsuitable for mass production of pig manure.

Ross continued his advocacy for private option health insurance, Hutchinson continued to dodge.

“Quite frankly, I’m not sure we need large-scale hog operations in the state."

Mike Ross' position:

My opponent is out there running commercials about how much he supports agriculture. But, just two weeks ago, he said our state didn’t need large hog operations in Arkansas. Well, Congressman Hutchinson, I don’t think it’s the governor’s role to be picking winners and losers in agriculture here in Arkansas. What will you oppose next? Big poultry farms? Large cattle ranches?

Every Arkansan has a right to farm responsibly. As governor, I won’t pick winners and losers – I’ll protect the rights of all Arkansans to farm responsibly and make a living for their families and provide food and fiber to our state and nation.

Mike Ross' remarks on hog farm from APA Debate:

We’ve got to recognize the Buffalo River is America’s first national river. We also have to recognize what it means to tourism in this state – and tourism is our state’s second largest industry. The process in which the permit was approved was a mistake. There should have been more input from the public. There should have been more public hearings. The people that live in that area who care deeply about the Buffalo River should have had more opportunities to be heard during that permitting process. I believe the permitting process, as a result of this, needs to be changed.

Having said that, the State of Arkansas approved the permit. The hog farmer hasn’t done anything wrong. He applied for a permit, and he received a permit. Governor Beebe is investing additional revenue in making sure testing is done to ensure there is no damage done to the environment as it relates to the Buffalo River from the hog farm. I will continue that testing as governor, and should that hog farm at any point in the future cause harm to the Buffalo National River or watershed, we will take appropriate actions at the time. So, we’re going to change the process and continue to monitor the existing farm there.

More by Max Brantley

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge went to court late yesterday to get the state Supreme Court to halt mediation ordered by Circuit Judge Tim Fox in the case over issuing birth certificates to same-sex parents.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, is the new White House press secretary.

KSFM reports that Joey McCutchen, the lawyer who's been trying to restart the Civil War in Fort Smith over the School Board's decision to drop the Rebel mascot and related trappingsfor Southside High School, is dropping his School Board takeover campaign.

by Max Brantley

May 27, 2016

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One of the booths at this week's Ark-La-Tex Medical Cannabis Expo was hosted by the Arkansas Hemp Association, a trade group founded to promote and expand non-intoxicating industrial hemp as an agricultural crop in the state. AHA Vice President Jeremy Fisher said the first licenses to grow experimental plots of hemp in the state should be issued by the Arkansas State Plant Board next spring.